Vancouver Police Chief Apologizes For 2007 Shooting

Vancouver police Chief Jim Chu has apologized to the family of a man shot dead by an officer in 2007 and says the department will fully co-operate with the new investigation into the death.

Paul Boyd was killed by an officer on Granville Street in August 2007 after he attacked officers with a bicycle chain. It was later learned he was suffering from a psychotic incident at the time

Several investigations cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, but after CBC News uncovered a cellphone video recording showing Boyd crawling on his hands and feet moments before he was shot, a new investigation by a special team of police from Alberta was ordered by the province.

Chu pointed out there have already been four reviews of Boyd's death. But he said the new video justified another investigation and the Vancouver police would co-operate fully.

"I'm very sorry the events unfolded the way they did that day," Chu said. "I was very disturbed by the video. It was very troubling to see that."

He said the department has created a new web page to link publicly available documents related to the shooting.

Const. Lee Chipperfield, the officer who shot and killed Boyd, has been pulled from front-line duty and has undergone new training and consultation with psychology experts, Chu said, adding the officer has since been assigned to the forensic identification unit.